Abstract:

China’s southernmost province, Hainan, is in the process of becoming the largest Free Trade Port (FTP) in the world. This tropical island province has made environmental improvement its highest priority as it pursues development of the FTP. It envisions building a world-class environmentally friendly economy by 2035 to attract investment, business, talent, and tourists from around the world. Although already boasting the cleanest air in China, Hainan’s pollution levels are still some distance from the WHO air quality guidelines. On-road vehicles are recognized as the primary source of Hainan’s PM2.5 pollution, with a contribution of 30%, and an important contributor to Hainan’s ozone pollution. Local environmental policymakers are clear that on-road vehicles are the key obstacle to achieving Hainan’s air quality targets. This report provides policy recommendations for decarbonizing Hainan’s on-road vehicle fleet during the 2021–2035 period, through policy benchmarking with international best practices.